Maine

[Keric]

Happy Birthday!

 

[Josh207]

Hello from Richmond, I am just starting out looking into having chickens. I am completely overwhelmed! It seems like a pretty expensive start up cost when considering the cost of a good coop. I would like one that is large enough to have a door to step into it (probably why this is all so pricey) but it seems like the best way to care for and clean up the coop. I had chickens growing up and now want to have that same experience (and fresh eggs) for my children. Also, do I have to run electricity to the coop. It seems as though there are different opinions on that? I dont plan on having eggs during the winter months. Do I need to provide heat in the winter? Or just a well insulated coop?

I recently built a better bigger coop for my chickens this winter, I'm in Wiscasset, it's not insulated and doesn't have electricity, it's 6x8 with 2 vents on 2 sides up high to keep it dry, I took my time with it and did it nice something I wish I had done with the first one. It can be expensive to build a coop but the way I look at it hopefully I wont have to do it again for a long time. My 3 Australorps and 3 Barred Rocks were born the end of June, I got my first egg on Thanksgiving, they were slow to get started but by Feb-March I was getting 5-6 eggs a day, even without lights. These breeds are pretty hardy and I didn't have any issues with frost bite. My coop is about 18 inches off the ground with a pop door in the floor, in the winter I can bank the sides with hay so they can go underneath and scratch around with out being in direct wind and snow. It worked pretty good for me, hope this helps.

 

[Dita Von Cluck]

Happy Birthday Widget!!

 

[hoppy]

I have started a thread for the central maine poultry youth day.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/767919/central-maine-poultry-youth-day-april-21-2013

bring your kids (or not- adults are welcome too) and just learn about different parts of showing chickens, and even get your birds tested for the up coming show season.

 

[blueseal]

So blueseal, are you housing the pullets in a different coop than layers? Last year my pullets all got grower, because I was just starting out. But now I have an established flock with layers that the chicks and pullets will be going into. Or are you feeding the grower to your layers as well?

yes I have them separated in different coops until laying age.

 

[Widget]

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

 

[MistyMae]

Thanks for the info! I am excited but really overwhelmed. I looked on craigslist last night. The coops/sheds were either something that looked so old and rickety that I doubt it could really be moved or they were new expensive coops. Nice looking ones though. I am going to really concentrate on looking all over the place this week. Maybe Uncle Henrys too. I am hoping for an insulated one so I dont have to run power down to it. I will bring water a few times a day. Our land is so rocky i think it would be very difficult to bury a power line out to it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Haven't been on in almost a week (too busy) and you guys are prolific!!

Anyone interested in free Olandsk Dwarf cockerals? They're about 12 weeks old and cute as the dickens. I hatched 6 eggs, and got 5 roos.

 

[ducklucky]

Welcome! It's exciting isn't it, to start on having chickens. You can start small for this year, and grow into it, but if you are going whole hog, it's a lot of work. You might want to start with like a half dozen or so if you've never had before, and go from there. Tons of info online, and here. The winters do get cold here, some folks heat, some do not. We do run a cord out for the water, and also have one heat lamp that we very rarely use, only if the temp stays zero for more than a few days. Keep it dry, plenty of fresh bedding when needed. We did insulate a bit, put up styrofoam and covered it with plywood, and it works fine. You also want to be wary of the critters that come up from underneath, we laid 1" wire under the whole coop and pen area, and extended it out about 18", keeps things from digging up from below. It's all a personal preference, and where you are going to locate your coop. If it's pretty well sheltered, the minimum, if it's exposed, more. Be careful with your placement, out of the wind, and you should be fine. There are many sites which tell you how many square feet per bird, etc., etc. The coop designs and ideas are endless and quite entertaining. It needn't cost a bundle if you use your imagination. Good luck to you, just look around and you will come up with something. If you are getting chicks, you will have about 4 weeks to get it together with the warmer weather coming (we hope!).

 

[MustardTiger]

Welcome Misty and Happy B Day Widget!

I was lucky and my house came with a coop. it is not insulated. I use the deep litter method and that has worked really well for me. This weekend will be the first time I have had to completely clean out the coop in a year! I dont put any extra heat in there in the winter. I do run a light though, a 40 watt bulb to keep them laying. I think chickens are a lot more cold hardy than we think. I keep their pop window open all winter as well to provide ventilation. The moisture is what you really need to worry about. I had no frostbite issues at all.


Grace and all, is there any reason the pullets couldn't go in with the layers and all get fed grower so long as the layers had access to oyster shell or some sort of calcium?